A comprehensive description of the hip movement during the golf swing by the Basic Steps to Perfect Golf

During the golf swing the hips move simultaneously on two planes, the rotational movement of the upper body unit will eventually force the hips to rotate away from the frontal facing position for a short distance as the back swing movement is performed, but to be performed correctly the hips must also pivot.

During the back swing movement, the hips will be eventually forced to rotate away from the frontal facing position for a short movement as the compact upper body unit is rotated to the end of the back swing movement, therefore allowing you to fully concentrate on performing the pivotal movement of the hips.

You must hold the hips in the frontal facing position for as long as possible, if fact the feeling you must have is that of not allowing the hips to move away from the frontal facing position at all, but of course there is bound to be some movement.

This upright view is simply to indicate the position of the hips at the end of the back swing movement.

In this photograph the right leg is straighter than it would be when performing the full golf swing, but this exaggeration of the movement is meant to show how the right leg remains in the original address position of being slightly bent, whilst the left leg is allowed to bend further, thus pivoting the hips but you will note how even in this photograph how the body begins to adopt a slight "C" shape.

Imagine a nail hammered through the central point between the two red dots as shown in the photograph, with the hips pivoting around this point.

Just as the shoulders reach the absolute limit of the back swing movement, the down swing movement is initiated by pressing the left foot to the ground and simultaneously forcing the hips to pivot/rotate aggressively towards the target area, thus setting up the correct down swing sequence of movements.

However almost immediately after the hips begin to rotate/pivot towards the target area, the torsion of the muscles between the lower part of the body and the upper part of the body reach their absolute maximum and this torsion has the effect of forcing the compact upper body unit to rotate around the central core of the spine, thereby automatically rotating the shoulders back to the original address position.

(Therefore it is absolutely vital that the upper body unit continue to be tightly held together as a solid compact one piece unit as it rotates around the central core of the spine.)

However as the aggressive movement of the hips force the compact upper body unit to rotate around the central core of the spine thus automatically rotating the shoulders back to the original address position, the inertia effect upon the arms will cause the arms to lag behind the rotational movement of the shoulders and unless action is taken to counteract this lagging effect, the arms will remain in this lagged condition to the completion of the golf swing.

Therefore at some point in the down swing movement the muscles of the left shoulder must be activated in order to pull the passive arms into the contact area. Therefore it is down to the skill of the golfer to judge the down swing movement so that the inertia effect is counteracted and also ensuring that the club head makes contact with the golf ball at the precise moment the shoulders return to the original address position.

Therefore by the time the shoulders actually return to the original address position, the hips will practically facing the target area -- --and as the follow through movement is performed, the hips will completely turn to fully face the target area.

(The complete cycle of the hip pivotal movement is from the position at the end of the back swing movement when the right hip in a higher position than the left hip -- to the end of the cycle where the left hip is in a higher position than the right hip, but importantly this pivotal movement of the hips must be performed whilst the hips remain held over the centre of the stance.)

The pivotal movement of the hips during the back swing movement is performed by adjusting the amount of flex (bend) in the left leg as the lower back muscles rotate the compact upper body unit to the end of the back swing movement.

For example at the address position, the amount of flex is exactly the same in each leg, but as the back swing is performed, the right leg is forced to remain in the original address position whilst the left leg is allowed to bend slightly more than at the original address position - this action causes the left hip to drop in relation to the position of the right hip.

However as you reverse the pivotal movement of the hips, you must simultaneously adjust the amount of flex in both legs in order to keep the hips at a constant height throughout the down swing movement.

For example, during down swing movement the left leg is straightened back to the original address position whilst simultaneously the right leg is allowed to bend slightly more than the original address position - thus pivoting the hips and maintaining the hips at a constant height.

1) It creates a consistent limit for the back swing movement, thus ensuring that the same amount of torsion is created every time a full back swing movement is performed, but importantly it forces the golfer to twist the upper torso in order to make a full back swing movement.

2) The pivotal movement of the hips allows the golfer to swing the passive arms/golf club on a more upright plane.

** Learn to rotate/ pivot the hips towards the target area in order to initiate and control the down swing movement and I can assure from my own experience, you will begin to play very, very good golf shots.**

This article by Jim McLean, a well known golf instructor, reinforces my interpretation of the hip action within the golf swing movement.

By Jim McLean with Pete McDaniel
Illustrations By Jim Luft And Jason Lee
Photos By Stephen Szurlej

Most people think the only connection in golf is the hands to the club. Of equal importance, however, is the feet to the ground -- a huge power source. This dynamic connection is the key to understanding the lower body's role in the swing.

Many golfers think the hips should turn level. That's simply not true. The right hip moves higher on the backswing, and the left hip even higher on the forward swing. It's this hip rise that creates a power surge, the player springing up from the ground.

At setup, your hips should be level or slightly angled, with the left hip higher. Going back, your right hip should rise slightly as you load your right side, which is a fundamental we teach at our golf schools. As you start down, both hips should lower into a sit-down position before the left hip rises dramatically, producing that burst of power.

Some amateurs have zero hip rise or a fake hip rise because they have an extreme amount of body lift, seven inches or more. These players raise the whole body to start the downswing; they never "sit down," so it's not a true hip rise. As you move through impact, feel your front hip turn to the left and upward to gain power. Feel what the longest hitters feel: Explode off the ground.

DRILLS: LEAD WITH LOWER BODY
Set up in front of a full-length mirror and have a friend mark your hip line with tape on the mirror. Holding a club across your shoulders, practice turning back and through (left). Note how much your hips move up and down. The drill at left shows a small hip shift going back and a much bigger shift through the shot.

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